Britain's top universities should not be "attacked" for admitting low numbers of ethnic minority students as more black youngsters need to apply, a leading students’ society has said.

Members of Cambridge University’s Afro-Caribbean Society (CUACS) who posed for a photograph outside St John's College have told how higher education institutions need to overcome negative messages and focus instead on empowerment.

Daniel Oluboyede, 19, a first year medicine student and member of CUACS, told the Telegraph: “It is always encouraging to be positive on the matter instead of just looking at the negatives. Loads of people love to talk about quotas and [the numbers of] ethnic minority students. Negative messaging is less powerful.”

Mr Oluboyede, who is from Wandsworth in south-west London and was assisted by the Target Oxbridge outreach programme during sixth form, added: “What they should be [talking about] are the success stories because that is really what is going to help people know that they can do.”

Introducing the #BlackMenofYaleUniversityCredit: @akintundeahmad

Donte Nembhard, a 19-year-old from Birmingham studying chemical engineering said: "The main message I want to send to young black boys who want to go to Cambridge is to not be discouraged by the low admission rate."

He told Buzz Feed News: “The rate will not increase if the number of applications remains the same. I feel that many young black boys don't believe they can make it to Cambridge whether that be for social reasons or due to statistics and end up not applying. These are the young black boys we wanted to reach out to.

"I believe the post got so much attention due to the way the issue was presented. Rather than attacking the university for the low admission rate when it comes to black students, we wanted to take an approach which focused on empowerment and encouragement."

The picture, which has gone viral since it was posted on social media by CUACS earlier this week, was taken outside St John’s College, whose alumni include the poet William Wordsworth, as well as ten Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and twelve archbishops. It has been shared and liked thousands of times since, including by the hip hop artist Stormzi.

CUACS said it drew inspiration from photograph of a group of ten African and Caribbean students at Yale University, titled Black Men of Yale University, which was shared widely on social media earlier this month.

Introducing the #BlackMenofYaleUniversityCredit: @akintundeahmad

A spokesperson for the society said that after finding that just 15 black male undergraduates were accepted into the university of Cambridge in 2015 they wanted to depict some of the men behind this statistic.

“Although not all of the men are from the 2015 admission cycle they are intended to serve as a microcosm for the population of black males in the university,” they said.

“The real purpose of the photographs was to remind young black individuals that Cambridge is for us. In order to encourage more applicants we recognise that representation and visibility is vital.”

In 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available, Cambridge accepted 15 black male students and 23 black female students.

Mr Olyboyede and another student in the photo were assisted by Target Oxbridge, a programme which helps African and Caribbean students apply to Oxford and Cambridge by providing interview practise, one-to-one tuition and summer schools.

Raph Mokades, who set up the programme, said the picture sends out a much stronger message than when universities release statistics and data to show how their intake of ethnic minority students has marginally increased.

“This is a very empowering and positive picture. Here are 14 guys who have done it. The thing about statistics and odds are that they are about aggregates and averages but these will never change unless individuals make that change,” he said.

“This picture is a breath of fresh air. It is not about protest or being a victim - it is about success and achievement and belonging. It has shifted the debate.”

Target Oxbridge, which was set up as a pro bono project by the recruitment company Rare, this year has become an official partner of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

A University spokesperson said: “We welcome this positive student-led campaign to raise aspirations and encourage applications to Cambridge.

“We maintain high academic standards but we are also committed to widening participation.”

The university said it currently spends £5 million a year on access measures, which includes projects focussed on BME students.